Lawmakers may be asked to take the stand in trial of former House Speaker Chris Donovan's campaign finance director

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Thirty-six people, including three sitting lawmakers, could be called as potential witnesses next week in the trial of former House Speaker Chris Donovan's campaign finance director.

Robert Braddock Jr., the former congressional campaign finance director, pleaded not guilty last summer to corruption charges. Braddock was charged with three counts of conspiring to hide the source of $27,500 in campaign donations to Donovan on behalf of a group of smoke shop owners looking to defeat legislation. His trial will start Monday at 9 a.m. in U.S. District Court in New Haven.

House Majority Leader Joseph Aresimowicz, D-Berlin; House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk; and Rep. Patricia Widlitz, D-Guilford, co-chairwoman of the Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee, all received notice they may be called to testify. As of Friday afternoon, none had been told definitively they would be called.

Cafero is the only Republican lawmaker on the list. Last year, when Cafero was one of a dozen lawmakers interviewed by the FBI he learned that straw donors delivered five $1,000 checks to three House Republican PACs. The checks were promptly returned.

In addition to the sitting lawmakers several former Donovan staffers, who are currently working at the state Capitol are also on the list.